Week 11 of the 2010 Elbo Room Trivia Tournament

As we get into the homestretch of the 2010 Elbo Room Trivia Tournament, my Street Academy team – Jeremy, Alexis and I – may not have as many qualifying points as the rest of the other seven teams in the tournament, but we are getting closer to the top with every game.

We were in fact able to nail such questions as the decade Bob Dylan was born (1940’s), the future world leader who wrote a book called “While England Slept” while being an undergraduate at Harvard (John F. Kennedy), and the country known as the “Middle Kingdom” (China). We got clobbered on a 10-pointer about what happens when a person develops pediculosis (for the record, it’s head lice, not athlete’s foot, my bad), and were only able to nail two of the three countries who host cycling’s grand tours (we got France and Italy, but chose the United States over Spain).

The final question was in the category of “baseball beatdowns,” and Street Academy was tied for third place with Woo Hoo a Go Go, while the Con-Fear-Acy and Da Bears held the lead.

With nothing to lose, we decided to bet the entire farm, knowing that a correct answer would cinch us, at the bare minimum, third place.

“How many runs did the Boston Red Sox score against the New York Yankees in Game 7 of the 2004 American League Division Series Championship?”

Now I have to mention this. Jeremy and Alexis have a nice healthy rivalry regarding Boston-based teams and New York-based teams. Alexis loves the Patriots, Jeremy roots for the Giants. Alexis enjoys the Red Sox, Jeremy supports the Yankees. I should have remembered the Yankees-Red Sox series, but the final score of Game 7 wasn’t coming to me.

Alexis thought that maybe the Red Sox scored seven runs in the game. We couldn’t remember any other total. A 7 was written on the answer slip.

The teams had answers ranging from 7 (us) to 17 (Touched by an Uncle). The Skidmarks, who actually have one member who consistently wears Red Sox caps and T-shirts to trivia, wrote down 14. Woo Hoo a Go Go put down 11, as did several other teams.

The answer was ten runs. Boston won the series with a 10-3 triumph over the Yankees.

“Ten runs was my next choice!” said a frustrated Alexis.

I can’t fault my teammates on this one. We played well and finished tied for third going into the final question, instead of seventh or eighth and praying for miracles on the final. We’re getting closer. And we still qualify for the tournament.

But General James, our Thursday night host, had an issue to deal with. One team, a squad called “Paul Runyon,” finished the night in second place. Thing is, Paul Runyon wasn’t going to be part of the tournament, this was their first week in the building, and they would not have played the requisite 12 weeks to qualify. So although they finished second in the game, they would not receive playoff points. The playoff points were spread among the qualifying teams that still had decent scores, and that meant Con-Fear-Acy picked up 5 points, while Da Bears – who finished the night in third place – were given credit for second place and three playoff points therein. Stern Fans got the final point for third place for qualifying squads.

So after eleven weeks, here are the standings. Twelve black stars (one star for each attendance) earn you a green star, meaning you have fulfilled attendance requirements (to be in the finals, you must attend 75% of the qualifying weeks). If your team has a “red star” next to your name, you are in danger of being disqualified for not showing up for the requisite 12 out of 16 weeks to qualify for the tournament.

Elbo Room Trivia Standings – Week 11

Trivia Team

Points

Totals

Attendance

1

Con-Fear-Acy

5

23

★★★★★★★★★★★

2

Skidmarks

18

★★★★★★★★★★★

3

Da Bears

3

17

★★★★★★★★★★

4

Stern Fans

1

16

★★★★★★★★★

T-5

Big Red Machine

9

★★★★★★★★

T-5

Woo Hoo a Go Go

9

★★★★★★★★★★★

7

Touched by an Uncle

3

★★★★★★★★

8

Street Academy

2

★★★★★★★★★★★

Five weeks left to go, with the championship game on June 10th. Good luck to all.

Chuck Miller

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Chuck Miller: Writer, Photographer, and the life lessons I learned from Street Academy